User terminal and driving method thereof, control device and driving method thereof, and control system of controlled device

ABSTRACT

A user terminal and a driving method thereof, a control device and a driving method thereof, and a control system of a controlled device are provided. The user terminal includes: a communication interface configured to communicate with a plurality of controlled devices which are operated based on individually set setting values; a user interface configured to receive an adjustment value for collectively controlling the plurality of controlled devices as a group; and a controller configured to individually adjust each of the setting values based on a ratio which relates to the received adjustment value, and to control the plurality of controlled devices based on the adjusted setting values.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/837,771, filed on Jun. 21, 2013, in the United StatesPatent and Trademark Office, and priority from Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2014-0029141, filed on Mar. 12, 2014 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate toa user terminal and a driving method thereof, a control device and adriving method thereof, and a control system of a controlled device,which can sensately control a lighting device, a sound device, atemperature control device, and a blind device via a Graphic UserInterface (GUI) displayed on a screen of the user terminal such as asmartphone.

BACKGROUND

An incandescent lamp or fluorescent lamp consumes much power for itsillumination efficiency, and has a relatively short operational life. Inparticular, the fluorescent lamp may cause a serious environmentalpollution problem due to mercury discharged when the fluorescent lamp isdiscarded. Therefore, an eco-friendly light emitting diode (LED) whichconsumes less power and has a semi-permanent life has receivedwidespread interest. In particular, the LED has merits in that itsdimming and color can be easily adjusted.

It is common that a light is only turned on or off via a remotecontroller or an on/off switch. However, in recent years, the light hasbecome so developed that a status of each light can be checked, aplurality of lights can be controlled, and a light can be remotelycontrolled simply by using a smartphone.

However, a related-art light control method is limited to turning on oroff a light and adjusting color and dimming by executing an applicationwhich is stored in a smartphone. Therefore, there is a problem thatrecent consumer demand for controlling the lights more sensately is notsatisfied.

SUMMARY

One or more exemplary embodiments may overcome the above disadvantagesand other disadvantages not described above. However, it is understoodthat one or more exemplary embodiments are not required to overcome thedisadvantages described above, and may not overcome any of the problemsdescribed above.

One or more exemplary embodiments provide a user terminal and a drivingmethod thereof, a control device and a driving method thereof, and acontrol system of a controlled device, which can easily control aplurality of controlled devices.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided auser terminal including: a communication interface configured tocommunicate with each of a plurality of controlled devices which areoperated based on individually set setting values; a user interfaceconfigured to receive an adjustment value for collectively controllingthe plurality of controlled devices as a group; and a controllerconfigured to individually adjust each of the setting values of theplurality of controlled devices based on a ratio which relates to theadjustment value, and to control the plurality of controlled devicesbased on the adjusted setting values.

The controller may be further configured to calculate an average valuebased on the setting values, to calculate at least one from among aratio of the received adjustment value to the calculated average valueand a ratio of the received adjustment value to a value which isobtainable by subtracting the calculated average value from a maximumsetting value, and to individually adjust each of the setting valuesbased on the calculated at least one ratio.

The user interface may be further configured to display a user interface(UI) window which displays the plurality of controlled devices as agroup and displays a collective control object which is usable forcollectively controlling operations of the controlled devices, and, inresponse to the displayed collective control object being adjusted by auser manipulation, the controller may be further configured to determinethe adjustment value based on an adjustment status of the collectivecontrol object.

The UI window may additionally display an individual control objectwhich is usable for individually controlling one device from among theplurality of controlled devices, and, in response to a lock being setfor the displayed individual control object, the controller may befurther configured to not adjust the setting value of the one devicewhich corresponds to the individual control object for which the lock isset.

In response to the collective control object being adjusted to aminimum, the controller may be further configured to adjust each of thesetting values to a respective minimum, and in response to thecollective control object being adjusted to a maximum, the controllermay be further configured to adjust each of the setting values to arespective maximum, and, in response to a user reset request, thecontroller may be further configured to reset each of the setting valueswhich have been adjusted to at least one from among the respectiveminimum and the respective maximum to the corresponding setting valueswhich had been set prior to being adjusted.

In response to each of the setting values having a same value, thecontroller may be further configured to adjust each of the settingvalues based on an absolute value of the adjustment value.

The controller may be further configured to additionally adjust each ofthe setting values based on a result of sensing a respectiveenvironmental quality of each individual one of the plurality ofcontrolled devices.

Each one of the plurality of controlled devices may include at least onefrom among a lighting device, a sound device, a blind device, and atemperature control device, and each of the setting values may includeat least one from among a target dimming value, a target volume, a blindadjustment status, and a target temperature.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a control device including: a communication interfaceconfigured to communicate with each of a plurality of controlled deviceswhich are operated based on respective individually set setting values,and with a user terminal; and a controller configured to, in response toan adjustment value for collectively controlling the plurality ofcontrolled devices as a group being received from the user terminal,individually adjust each of the setting values based on a ratio whichrelates to the received adjustment value, and to control the pluralityof controlled devices based on the adjusted setting values.

The controller may be further configured to calculate an average valuebased on the setting values, to calculate at least one from among aratio of the received adjustment value to the calculated average valueand a ratio of the received adjustment value to a value which isobtainable by subtracting the calculated average value from a maximumsetting value, and to individually adjust each of the setting valuesbased on the calculated at least one ratio.

The user terminal may be configured to display a UI window whichdisplays the plurality of controlled devices as a group and displays acollective control object which is usable for collectively controllingoperations of the controlled devices, and, in response to the displayedcollective control object being adjusted by a user manipulation, thecontroller may be further configured to determine the adjustment valuebased on an adjustment status of the collective control object.

The UI window may additionally display an individual control objectwhich is usable for individually controlling one device from among theplurality of controlled devices, and, in response to a lock being setfor the displayed individual control object, the controller may befurther configured to not adjust the setting value of the one devicewhich corresponds to the individual control object for which the lock isset.

In response to the collective control object being adjusted to a minimumby the user manipulation, the controller may be further configured toadjust each of the setting values to a respective minimum, and inresponse to the collective control object being adjusted to a maximum bythe user manipulation, the controller may be further configured toadjust each of the setting values to a respective maximum, and, inresponse to a user reset request, the controller may be furtherconfigured to reset each of the setting values which have been adjustedto at least one from among the respective minimum and the respectivemaximum to the corresponding setting values which had been set prior tobeing adjusted.

In response to each of the setting values having a same value, thecontroller may be further configured to adjust each of the settingvalues based on an absolute value of the adjustment value.

The controller may be further configured to additionally adjust each ofthe setting values based on a result of sensing a respectiveenvironmental quality of each individual one of the plurality ofcontrolled devices.

Each one of the plurality of controlled devices may include at least onefrom among a lighting device, a sound device, a blind device, and atemperature control device, and each of the setting values may includeat least one from among a target dimming value, a target volume, a blindadjustment status, and a target temperature.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a driving method which is executable by a user terminal forcollectively controlling a plurality of controlled devices which are setas a group, the method including: displaying an individual controlobject via which respective setting values for each of the plurality ofcontrolled devices are individually set; displaying a collective controlobject which indicates an average value of the respective setting valuesof the plurality of controlled devices; and, in response to thedisplayed collective control object being adjusted based on anadjustment value which is received by the user terminal, adjusting thedisplayed individual control object based on an adjustment ratio whichrelates to the collective control object.

The adjustment ratio may include at least one from among a ratio of theadjustment value to an average value which is calculated based on therespective setting values and a ratio of the adjustment value to a valuewhich is obtainable by subtracting the calculated average value from amaximum setting value.

The adjusting the individual control object may include, in response toeach of the respective setting values of the plurality of controlleddevices having a same value, adjusting the individual control objectbased on an absolute value of the adjustment value.

The adjusting the individual control object may include additionallyadjusting the individual control object based on a result of sensing arespective environmental quality of each individual one of the pluralityof controlled devices.

The method may further include setting a lock for the individual controlobject, and the adjusting the individual control object may includerefraining from adjusting the individual control object for which thelock is set.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a driving method which is executable by a control device forcontrolling a plurality of controlled devices, the method including:receiving, from a user terminal, an adjustment value for collectivelycontrolling the plurality of controlled devices as a group; individuallyadjusting each of a plurality of setting values which are individuallyset for a respective one of the plurality of controlled devices based ona ratio which relates to the received adjustment value; and controllingthe plurality of controlled devices based on the adjusted settingvalues.

The individually adjusting may include calculating an average valuebased on the plurality of setting values, calculating at least one fromamong a ratio of the received adjustment value to the calculated averagevalue and a ratio of the received adjustment value to a value which isobtainable by subtracting the calculated average value from a maximumsetting value, and individually adjusting each of the plurality ofsetting values based on the calculated at least one ratio.

The method may further include, in response to the adjustment valuebeing received from the user terminal, determining whether each of theplurality of setting values has a same value, and the controlling theplurality of controlled devices may include, in response to adetermination that each of the plurality of setting values has a samevalue, adjusting each of the plurality of setting values based on anabsolute value of the received adjustment value.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a control system of a first controlled device including: aplurality of controlled devices configured to operate based onindividually set setting values; and a controller configured to, inresponse to an adjustment value for collectively controlling theplurality of collected devices as a group being received from a userterminal, individually adjust each of the setting values based on aratio which relates to the received adjustment value, and to control theplurality of controlled devices based on the adjusted setting values.

According to the exemplary embodiments, the lighting device, sounddevice, temperature control device, and blind device can be sensatelycontrolled via the GUI displayed on the screen of the user terminal suchas a smartphone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects will be more apparent by describing indetail exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view which illustrates a control system, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 3, and 4 are views which illustrate variousexamples to which the control system of FIG. 1 applies;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views which illustrate an operation of controlling alight by using a user terminal of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are block diagrams which illustrate variousconfigurations of the user terminal of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are block diagrams which illustrate variousconfigurations of a control device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a view which illustrates a process for controlling a lightingdevice, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are views schematizing the process for controlling thelight device of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart which illustrates a driving method of a controldevice, according to a first exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart which illustrates a driving method of a controldevice, according to a second exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a view which illustrates a driving screen of a light controlimplemented in the user terminal of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a view which illustrates a portrait view of a group list;

FIG. 15 is a view which illustrates a landscape view of a group list;

FIG. 16 is a view which illustrates a detailed page view of a list;

FIG. 17 is a view which illustrates a quick panel screen;

FIGS. 18 to 29L are views schematizing a driving screen of a lightcontrol;

FIG. 30 is a view which illustrates a UI configuration, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 31 to 41 are views which schematically illustrate regulations of aUI, according to an exemplary embodiment

FIGS. 42 to 90 are views which illustrate a UI driving screen, accordingto an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 91A and 91B show a table that summarizes the detailed functionsrelated to FIG. 13;

FIGS. 92A and 92B show a table that summarizes the detailed functionsrelated to FIG. 14;

FIGS. 93A and 93B show a table that summarizes the detailed functionsrelated to FIG. 15;

FIGS. 94A and 94B show a table that summarizes the detailed functionsrelated to FIG. 16;

FIG. 95 shows a table that summarizes the detailed functions related toFIG. 17; and

FIGS. 96 to 98 show tables that summarize notation regulations of theUI.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in greater detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, same reference numerals are used for thesame elements when they are depicted in different drawings. The mattersdefined in the description, such as detailed construction and elements,are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplaryembodiments. Thus, it is apparent that exemplary embodiments can becarried out without those specifically defined matters. In addition,functions or elements known in the related art are not described indetail, since they would obscure the exemplary embodiments withunnecessary detail.

FIG. 1 is a view which illustrates a control system of a controlleddevice (hereinafter, referred to as a control system) according to anexemplary embodiment, FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 3, and 4 are views whichillustrate various examples to which the control system of FIG. 1applies, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are views which illustrate an operation ofcontrolling a light by using a user terminal of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control system 90 according to an exemplaryembodiment includes a part or all of a user terminal 100, acommunication network 110, a control device 120, and a plurality ofcontrolled devices 130.

The term “including a part or all” herein means that some elements, suchas a sensor 130 a, may be omitted, and/or that some elements, such asthe control device 120, are not limited to hardware and software forms,and may be integrated into another element, such as the user terminal100 or a controlled device 130. For example, when the user terminal 100can perform the function of the control device 120, the user terminal100 may directly control the plurality of controlled devices 130.However, for better understanding of exemplary embodiments, the controlsystem 90 of FIG. 1 illustrates all of the elements.

The controlled device 130 refers to any type of device which can becontrolled by the control device 120. The controlled device 130 mayinclude any one or more of various kinds of devices which relate to anenvironment where the control system 90 is installed or a characteristicof the control system 90. For example, when the control system 90 isinstalled in an environment such as a house or office, the controlleddevice 130 may include any one or more of various types of devices whichare usable in that environment, such as various lighting devices, an airconditioning and heating system, home appliances, and/or a blind.

The control system 90 according to an exemplary embodiment includes notonly a lighting system, but also a system 90A which controls variouselectronic devices simultaneously by automatically calculating a ratio(or a magnification factor) as shown in FIG. 2A, a sound control system90B as shown in FIG. 2B, a system 90C which controls an overalltemperature in a house as shown in FIG. 2C, and a blind control system90D as shown in FIG. 2D.

These systems collectively (or en bloc) control the controlled devices,such as electronic devices or sound devices, which are grouped, based ona ratio which relates to an adjustment value adjusted by a user. Inparticular, in response to the controlled devices being collectivelycontrolled in one group in a state in which the user individually setsrespective setting values for each of the controlled devices, thesetting values are adjusted based on a ratio which is determined basedon an adjusted value. For example, in response to the user turning downthe volume for a corresponding group in a state in which a target volumeis set for each sound device, the target volumes of the sound devicesare adjusted based on a ratio which relates to the turned-down volume.In addition, when a target temperature is set for each space in a houseas shown in FIG. 2C, the target temperature is adjusted by a collectivecontrol. When a target condition, such as a height of a blind, is setfor each window as shown in FIG. 2D, the height may be adjusted or ablocking direction of the blind for blocking light may be changed basedon a collectively controlled ratio.

More specifically, in response to the user collectively controlling aplurality of air conditioning devices 200A, 210A, 220A, 230A which areinstalled in a house as the plurality of controlled devices 130 of FIG.1 in order to decrease temperatures by about 1° via the user terminal100 or the control device 120 of FIG. 1 in the control system 90A shownin FIG. 2A, the user terminal 100 or control device 120 may providedifferent ratio values to the air conditioning devices 200A, 210A, 220A,and 230A in order to rapidly implement the setting designated by theuser. Accordingly, the ratio for controlling several devicessimultaneously can be automatically calculated in any case.

In addition, in the control system 90B shown in FIG. 2B, in response tothe user collectively controlling the sounds of the plurality of sounddevices 200B, 210B, 220B, 230B via the user terminal 100 or controldevice 120 of FIG. 1 in order to do different things while the pluralityof sound devices 200B, 210B, 220B, 230B installed in the house as theplurality of controlled devices 130 of FIG. 1 are operated, the userterminal 100 or the control device 120 provides different volume levelsto each of the sound devices 200B, 210B, 220B, and 230B such that thesound devices 200B, 210B, 220B, and 230B are ratio-controlled based onthe transmitted volume levels. The ratio-controlling refers tore-adjusting (or re-setting) a predetermined value of each sound device200B, 210B, 220B, and 230B by considering a ratio which relates to acollectively adjusted adjustment value.

For example, in the temperature control system 90C shown in FIG. 2C, inresponse to the user collectively controlling the overall temperature ofthe house to be increased by about 3° C. via the user terminal 100 orcontrol device 120 of FIG. 1, the air conditioning or heating devicesinstalled in each room may be controlled with reference to a pre-settemperature by reflecting a relative value, that is, a differentrespective adjustment value, based on the collectively adjusted ratio.In particular, in response to the overall temperature being collectivelycontrolled to be increased by 3° C., a temperature of a living room maybe increased by 1° C. and a temperature of a main room may be increasedby 3° C. based on a respective pre-set value for each room.

The control method of the control system 90 of the blind device shown inFIG. 2D is not significantly different from those described above. Inparticular, in response to the user collectively pulling down theplurality of blind devices 200D, 210D, 220D via the user terminal 100 orcontrol device of FIG. 1, the blind devices 200D, 210D, and 220D areratio-controlled with reference to a respective blind height which hasbeen set by considering an amount of light entering a correspondingwindow with time, such that the blind devices are pulled down based ondifferent respective adjustment values. The same method applies when theblind devices are pulled up.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the control system 90 may adjusteach individually set setting value by additionally consideringsurroundings, i.e., a respective environmental quality, of each of thecontrolled devices in changing the setting value according to the ratio.In other words, the control system 90 may increase a volume adjustingratio of a sound device of a space where the user is located incomparison with other devices by considering the presence/absence of theuser as shown in top view (a) of FIG. 3, or may adjust the volumevariably based on the collectively adjusted ratio by considering aviewing mode, that is, considering whether the mode is a television (TV)viewing mode or a movie viewing mode as shown in bottom view (b) of FIG.3. In addition, in response to the user collectively decreasing thetemperature of the house via the air conditioning device or heatingdevice as shown in FIG. 4, the collectively adjusted ratio may bevariably reflected by considering the location of the user.

More specifically, in response to the user collectively adjusting thesounds of the plurality of sound devices 200B to 230B in the controlsystem 90B of FIG. 2B, the sound devices 200B, 210B, 220B, and 230B arecontrolled based on the ratio which relates to the collected adjustedadjustment values. However, the sound device 200B of the living roomwhere the user is located is controlled by reflecting a value which ishigher than the adjustment value of the ratio. As described above, thecontrol system 90B of FIG. 2B may ratio-control based on a result ofdetecting surroundings and/or a respective environmental quality, suchas, for example, a presence and/or absence of the user.

In addition, the sound devices 200B, 210B, 220B, and 230B of FIG. 2B mayoperate at different ratios based on a type of content executed in theuser terminal 100 of FIG. 1 or a representative sound device of theplurality of sound devices 200B to 230B. Accordingly, a dynamicoperation as shown in bottom view (b) of FIG. 3 can be performed. Forexample, the sound device 230B, such as a TV, may operate according to arelatively high volume adjusting ratio in comparison with the othersound devices 200B and 220B.

In addition, the control systems 90A and 90C shown in FIGS. 2A and 2Cmay control the air conditioning or heating devices installed in thehouse based on any one or more of various variables such assurroundings, a location of the user, an area of a corresponding space,a location of the air conditioning or heating device, an externaltemperature, an amount of used energy, and/or any other suitablevariable, as shown in FIG. 4. Accordingly, dynamic grouping and ratiocontrol can be performed based on a purpose of use of the user, and thetemperature can be adjusted to reach a target temperature of the user.For example, each air conditioning device 400, 410, and 420 may operatewith a different air volume as shown in FIG. 4. In particular, the airvolume of the air conditioning device 400 of the large living room maybe set to a higher value than those of the air conditioning devices 410and 420 of the other small rooms.

As described above, the control system 90 of FIG. 1 may be modified invarious forms and exemplary embodiments are not limited to theabove-described exemplary embodiments. Hereinafter, however, a lightingsystem will be described by way of an example for the convenience ofexplanation.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the user terminal 100 according to anexemplary embodiment includes a mobile phone such as a smartphone, atablet personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a desktop PC, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), and/or any other suitable device whichperforms wired and/or wireless communication. The user terminal 100accesses the communication network 110 and communicates with the controldevice 120. In this case, the user terminal 100 may communicate with thecontrol device 120 via an access point 111 in the communication network110. When the user terminal 100 can perform the operation of the controldevice 120, the user terminal 100 may directly control the plurality ofcontrolled devices 130.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the user terminal 100 collectivelycontrols the plurality of controlled devices 130 as a group (or unitgroup) via an interface with the user. To achieve this, the userterminal 100 may execute an application (or a program) stored therein.For example, when the plurality of controlled devices 130 are lightingdevices, the user terminal 100 may display a UI window on the screen byexecuting the application as shown in views (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 5.The UI window includes an individual control object 510 which is usablefor controlling each of the lighting devices individually, and acollective control object 520 which is usable for controlling theplurality of lighting devices as a group. The user may group certainlighting devices (e.g., LED 1, LED 2, and LED 3) and individually set atarget dimming value for each lighting device via the UI window, asshown in view (a) of FIG. 5. Accordingly, the collective control object520 shown in view (b) of FIG. 5 indicates an average of the individuallyset target dimming values. Thereafter, in response to the user changingthe target dimming value by adjusting the collective control object 520as shown in view (b) of FIG. 5, the user terminal 100 changes theindividually set setting values of the lighting devices by reflecting aratio which relates to the adjustment value, as shown in view (c) ofFIG. 5.

For example, it is assumed that the user individually sets the lightingdevices to have respective dimming values of 50, 30, and 100 lux byadjusting the individual control object 510 of the UI window as shown inview (a) of FIG. 5. In this case, the collective control object 520 ofthe UI window displays “60” lux which is calculated as an average of theindividually set dimming values, as shown in view (b) of FIG. 5.Thereafter, in response to the user changing 60 lux to 30 lux byadjusting the collective control object 520, the light devices indicate25, 15, and 50 lux, respectively. In other words, because the collectivecontrol object 520 reduces the average dimming value of 60 lux by 50% to30 lux, each of the lighting devices reduces its respective individuallyset dimming value by 50% by reflecting the ratio of the adjustment valueadjusted by the collective control object 520.

During the above-described process, the user terminal 100 mayadditionally perform any one or more of various functions. View (a) ofFIG. 6 illustrates an example in which a locking function is set for alighting device designated by the user by using the collective controlobject. The lighting device for which the locking function is set doesnot operate in response to a manipulation or an adjustment of thecollective control object. As shown in view (a) of FIG. 6, a lockingobject 630 may be displayed on an individual control object 610 whichcorresponds to the locking device for which the locking function is set,and only the other individual control objects 610 are controlled byreflecting the ratio of the collectively controlled adjustment value. Inaddition, in response to the user performing a tapping operation 640 ona collective control object 620 in order to perform a collective controladjustment based on an absolute value rather than a rate, as shown inview (b) of FIG. 6, the respective setting values of each of theindividual control objects 610 are controlled based on the absolutevalue of the adjustment value of the collective control object 620.Furthermore, in response to the user adjusting the collective controlobject 620 to the maximum in order to operate each of the individuallighting devices at its respective maximum dimming value as shown inview (c) of FIG. 6, each of the individual control objects 610 isadjusted to the corresponding maximum. Then, in response to apredetermined time elapsing or a separate command which is received fromthe user, the individual control objects 610 are reset to theirrespective original statuses. In this case, a memory object 650 may bedisplayed on the screen. As a result, the user terminal 100 may continueto perform the ratio control according to an exemplary embodiment. Theabove-described method may apply in the same way when each of theindividual control objects 610 is adjusted to the respective minimum. Inaddition, the user terminal 100 may limit the adjustable maximum valuebased on a respective environmental quality of each of the lightingdevices, as shown in view (d) of FIG. 6. For example, in response to anamount of light which enters from the outside exceeding a thresholdvalue, the lighting device placed closest to the window does not exceedthe maximum value, even if the lighting device belongs to the groupwhich is operated by the collective control.

To perform the above-described functions, the user terminal 100 receivesinformation which relates to the plurality of controlled devices 130registered at the control device 120, for example, the lighting devices,via an initial loading operation. Accordingly, the user terminal 100shares the information which relates to the plurality of controlleddevices 130 with the control device 120, so that the user can grasp theplurality of controlled devices 130 which are installed in a certainspace at a glance, via the user terminal 100. In addition, whencollectively controlling the plurality of controlled devices 130, theuser terminal 100 may provide group information which is set by the userregarding the plurality of controlled devices 130 and respective settingvalues of the individual controlled devices 130-1 to 130-N to thecontrol device 120, in order to share the information with the controldevice 120. Accordingly, in response to the user terminal 100 providingthe group information and additional information related to an increaseand decrease of the dimming value to the control device 120 togetherwith the adjustment value collectively controlled by the user, thecontrol device 120 may control the plurality of controlled devices 130by reflecting the additional information. Of course, during thisprocess, the user terminal 100 may provide the adjustment value in theform of a ratio value rather than an absolute value. For example, whenthe adjustment value indicates an increasing value by 20 lux, theincreasing value information is provided not with information which isbased on the value 20 but instead with a ratio value which is based onthe 20 lux value.

In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the user terminal 100adjusts the individual control object 510 and the collective controlobject 520 by performing a dragging operation on the UI window which isdisplayed on the screen for the convenience of manipulation, as shown inviews (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 5. However, the controlling operation isnot limited to the dragging operation. For example, the adjustment valuemay be changed by manipulating a button which is provided adjacent tothe collective control object 520. In addition, the adjustment value maybe changed by a voice control and/or by a motion control. In this case,the user terminal 100 may analyze a voice which is collected via amicrophone in order to change the adjustment value, and/or may analyzean image which is received via a camera in order to change theadjustment value. In the case of the motion control, a direction and arange of the adjustment value may be determined by using a hand motionand a motion speed.

The communication network 110 of FIG. 1 includes all of the wired andwireless communication networks. The wired network includes Internet,such as a cable network or a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN),and the wireless communication network includes Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA), Wideband (W)-CDMA, Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM), Evolved Packet Core (EPC), Long Term Evolution(LTE), and Wibro networks. Accordingly, when the communication network110 is a wired communication network, the user terminal 100 may accessan exchange office of a telephone office, and, when the communicationnetwork 110 is a wireless communication network, the user terminal 100may access a Serving GRPS Support Node (SGSN) and/or a Gateway GRPSSupport Node (GGSN) which is operated by a mobile network operator andmay process data, or may access any one or more of various relay bases,such as Base Station Transmission (BTS), NodeB, e-NodeB, and/or anyother suitable type of relay base, and may process data. According to anexemplary embodiment, the communication network 110 may serve totransmit data which is processed by the user terminal 100 forcollectively controlling the plurality of controlled devices 130 to thecontrol device 120.

The communication network 110 includes a small base station, such as afemtocell or picocell base station, which is mainly installed inbuildings, that is, the access point 111. The femtocell and picocellbase stations are distinguished from each other based on thecorresponding maximum number of the user terminals 100 that the basestation can access. The access point 111 includes a short-rangecommunication module to communicate within a short range, such as Zigbeeand/or Wi-Fi. The short-range communication may be performed accordingto any one or more of various standards, such as Bluetooth, Zigbee,Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Radio Frequency (RF) such as UltraHigh Frequency (UHF) and Very High Frequency (VHF), Ultra Wideband(UWB), and/or any other suitable standard, in addition to Wi-Fi.Accordingly, the access point 111 extracts a location of a data packet,designates a best communication path to the extracted location, andtransmits the data packet which was received from the control device 120to the user terminal 100 via the designated communication path. Althoughthe access point 111 is connected with the control device 120 in a wiredmanner in FIG. 1, the access point 111 may be connected with the controldevice 120 wirelessly.

For example, in response to the user terminal 100 accessing the accesspoint 111 of the communication network 110, for example, a wirelessrouter, in a certain space like a house, the access point 111 maytransmit the data processed by the user terminal 100 to the controldevice 120. The access point 111 may transmit data provided by thecontrol device 120 to the user terminal 100. In particular, in responseto the user terminal 100 accessing the access point 111 of thecommunication network 110 and executing an application for collectivelycontrolling the plurality of controlled devices 130, the user terminal100 and the control device 120 may perform a loading operation via theaccess point 111. Accordingly, the user terminal 100 and the controldevice 120 may share the information which relates to the plurality ofcontrolled devices 130.

The control device 120 controls the plurality of controlled devices 130based on a command of the user terminal 100. To achieve this, thecontrol device 120 interworks with a database (DB) 120 a. The DB 120 astores a variety of information which is useful and/or necessary forcontrolling the plurality of controlled devices 130. For example, thecontrol device 120 may store the variety of information, such as deviceIDs and location information relating to the plurality of controlleddevices 130 which are installed in a certain space. For example, thecontrol device 120 may acquire device IDs by communicating with theplurality of controlled devices 130 using Near Field Communication(NFC), and, in response to the individual controlled devices 130_1 to130_N of the acquired device IDs being normally installed, the controldevice 120 may register the individual controlled devices 130_1 to 130_Nat the DB 120 a. The registering process may be used more advantageouslyto distinguish control areas when the control device 120 is used as acommunication device. For example, this is because the user should notcontrol lighting devices in a neighboring house in the same apartmentcomplex. In addition, the registered individual controlled devices 130_1to 130_N may be deleted via the user terminal 100 or by using NFC. Forexample, in response to the same ID being acquired again for theregistered device ID, the registered device may be deleted. Furthermore,the DB 120 a may store the group information which is set for theplurality of controlled devices 130 by the user via the user terminal100, and may store information which relates to respective individualsetting values of the individual controlled devices 130_1 to 130_N andan average of the individual setting values in the group.

Accordingly, in response to group information which relates to aspecific group and an adjustment value for collectively controlling theplurality of controlled devices 130 belonging to the specific groupbeing received from the user terminal 100, the control device 120 maycalculate a ratio by using the received adjustment value. Of course, inresponse to the adjustment value being provided from the user terminal100 in the form of a ratio value, the calculating process may beomitted. Thereafter, the control device 120 adjusts the setting valuesof the plurality of controlled devices 130 belonging to thecorresponding group based on the calculated ratio value, and then storescorresponding information in the DB 120 a. In addition, the controldevice 120 controls the plurality of controlled devices 130 belonging tothe same group based on the adjusted setting values. For example, whenthe plurality of controlled devices 130 are lighting devices, thecontrol device 120 may generate a control signal for adjusting dimmingvalues of the lighting devices, and may provide the control signal tothe plurality of controlled devices 130. In this case, the controlsignal may be a switching signal for adjusting a level of a voltageapplied to the plurality of controlled devices 130, or may be a PulseWidth Modulation (PWM) signal for adjusting a time during which acurrent is applied.

In addition, the control device 120 may adjust the setting values of theplurality of controlled devices 130 by reflecting any one or more ofvarious functions which are set via the user terminal 100 by using thecollective control. For example, in response to a lock being set for aspecific controlled device 130_1˜130_N, the control device 120 may notchange the setting value of the controlled device 130_1˜130_N for whichthe lock is set, and may instead maintain a previous status. Inaddition, when the control is set to be performed based on an absolutevalue rather than a ratio value, the control device 120 may calculate anabsolute value of the received adjustment value, and then may adjusteach of the setting values of the plurality of controlled devices 130based on the calculated absolute value. This has been described abovewith reference to FIG. 6 and thus a redundant explanation is omitted.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the control device 120 mayautomatically determine whether the control method is a ratio controlmethod or a control method which is based on using an absolute value,and may operate in the control method using the absolute value accordingto a result of the determining. For example, in response to theadjustment value being received from the user terminal 100, the controldevice 120 determines whether each of the setting values of theplurality of controlled devices 130 individually set by the user has asame value. In response to the setting values being the same value, thecontrol device 120 adjusts the setting values of the plurality ofcontrolled devices 130 by the absolute value. For example, referring toview (b) of FIG. 6, the control device 120 may selectively use a manualmethod in which the user sets a value or an automatic method describedabove in order to control the plurality of controlled devices 130 byusing the absolute value.

In addition, the control device 120 may adjust the setting values byreflecting a result of sensing performed by the sensor 130 a whichinterworks with the individual controlled devices 130_1 to 130_N. Forexample, the sensor 130 a may sense the presence/absence of the user asshown in FIGS. 3 and 4, or may sense an amount of light which entersthrough a window as shown in FIG. 6. The control device 120 may adjustthe setting values based on a result of the sensing performed by thesensor 130 a. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the maximum dimmingvalue is set for a lighting device which is located where a relativelylarge amount of light enters, the control device 120 controls thesetting value of the lighting device not to exceed the maximum dimmingvalue.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the control device 120 may beincluded in a communication device of the communication network 110. Inparticular, the control device 120 may be included in the communicationnetwork 110 in the form of a bridge, a hub, a router, and/or a repeaterwhich can share several lines in a general network environment, ratherthan in the form of an individual device which is separated from thecommunication network 110 as shown in FIG. 1. The hub differs from thewireless router in that the hub is a physical layer device fordistributing only several ports, and the bridge is the same as therepeater in that the bridge connects two LANs as a data link layerdevice, but is different from the repeater in its capability ofadjusting an amount of traffic. The repeater serves to amplify a weaksignal. The bridge may re-generate data similarly as the repeater, butis different from the repeater in that the bridge re-generates the datain different locations. In this aspect, the bridge may be a combinationof the repeater and the hub. The router connects different networklayers. The router operates as an Internet Protocol (IP) node and sets apath with reference to routing data according to the IP. Accordingly,when the hub and the repeater are first layer devices, the bridge is asecond layer device and the router is a third layer device. Thesecommunication devices may be improved to perform the operation of thecontrol device 120 according to an exemplary embodiment.

The plurality of controlled devices 130 may include any one or more oflighting devices, sound devices, blind devices, and temperature controldevices. According to an exemplary embodiment, the lighting device mayinclude a light-emitting diode (LED). The LED is able to controldimming, that is, brightness, and thus requires a current source or apower source to control the same. In particular, the LED may be drivenby constant voltage or constant current. Accordingly, each lightingdevice may include a separate driver to be driven by the constantvoltage or the constant current. The driver may operate according to acontrol signal provided by the control device 120. For example, thebrightness of the lighting device may be adjusted by adjusting a levelof voltage applied to the LED under the control of the control device120. In addition, the brightness is increased by increasing an amount ofcurrent by adjusting a driving time during which the LED operates, thatis, a pulse width. As described above, the plurality of controlleddevices 130 may be controlled by the control device 120 in any one ormore of various ways, such as by controlling the constant voltage orconstant current.

In addition, the individual controlled devices 130_1 to 130_N mayoperate according to a result of the sensing performed by the sensor 130a. According to an exemplary embodiment, the sensor 130 a may beprovided for each of the plurality of individually controlled devices130_1 to 130_N. The sensor 130 a may include any one or more of varioustypes of sensors which are configured to detect surroundings and/orenvironmental qualities of the individual controlled devices 130_1 to130_N. Of course, the sensor is related to the ratio control operation.For example, the sensor 130 a may include an infrared ray operationsensor configured to determine the presence/absence of the user, or mayinclude a light sensor configured to determine an amount of light whichenters from the outside.

For example, when the plurality of controlled devices 130 are lightingdevices, the sensor 130 a may provide information which relates to theamount of light entering from the outside to the control device 120, andthe control device 120 may operate the lighting devices in any one ormore of various ways according to a result of the sensing provided fromthe sensor 130 a. For example, when a lighting device connected with thesensor 130 a is set to be turned off in response to the amount of lightexceeding a threshold value, the control device 120 may turn off thecorresponding lighting device in response to the amount of lightexceeding the threshold value as a result of the sensing of the sensor130 a. In this case, the control device 120 controls only the otherlighting devices of the same group by adjusting the setting values basedon the ratio value. In addition, when the user limits the maximumadjustable value according to the result of the sensing of the sensor130 a as shown in view (d) of FIG. 6, the control device 120 may adjustthe setting value only up to the maximum value of the correspondinglighting device, regardless of the ratio value.

In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the user terminal 100interworks with the control device 120 via the communication network 110in order to control the plurality of controlled devices 130. However,this should not be considered as limiting. For example, according to anexemplary embodiment, when the user terminal 100 includes a hardwareelement such as a memory or a software element of the control device 120and performs the operation of the control device 120, the user terminal100 can directly control the plurality of controlled devices in anycase. In addition, when the control device 120 is integrated into theplurality of controlled devices 130, the user terminal 100 may directlycontrol the plurality of controlled devices 130.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are block diagrams which illustrate a configuration ofthe user terminal of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 7A in conjunction with FIG. 1, the user terminal 100according to an exemplary embodiment is configured to interwork with thecontrol device 120 of FIG. 1, for example, and includes a part or all ofa communication interface 700, a controller 710, a user interface 720, astorage 730, and a group control executer 740.

The term “including a part or all” herein may mean that some elements,such as the storage 730, may be omitted and/or that some elements, suchas the group control executer 740, may be integrated into the controller710 as shown in FIG. 7B. For better understanding of exemplaryembodiments, the user terminal 100 includes all of the elements.

The communication interface 700 communicates with the control device120. According to another exemplary embodiment, the communicationinterface 700 may communicate with each individual device of theplurality of controlled devices 130. In particular, when the userterminal 100 directly controls the plurality of controlled devices 130without intervention of the control device 120, the communicationinterface 700 may communicate with each one of the plurality ofcontrolled devices 130.

The controller 710 performs an overall operation to control thecommunication interface 700, the user interface 720, the storage 730,and the group control executer 740 of the user terminal 100. Forexample, in response to a user command to control the plurality ofcontrolled devices 130 being received via the user interface 720, thecontroller 710 may operate the group control executer 740 based on theuser command. In addition, in response to the user changing theadjustment value for collectively controlling the plurality ofcontrolled devices 130 of FIG. 1 via the user interface 720, thecontroller 710 may control the communication interface 700 to provideinformation which relates to the adjustment value to the control device120. In this case, the controller 710 may provide group informationstored in the storage 730 and additional information relating to whetherthe adjustment value is an increasing value or decreasing value, inconjunction with the adjustment value. Furthermore, the controller 710may control the communication interface 700 to provide information whichrelates to any one or more of various functions set by the user via theuser interface 720 to the control device 120. When a lock is set or acontrol method using an absolute value rather than a ratio value is set,the controller 710 may control the communication interface 700 toprovide corresponding setting information to the control device 120.

The user interface 720 may include a display and a button inputter. Forexample, when the user interface 720 is configured as a display of atouch screen method, a user command may be received by means of a user'stouch. In this case, the button inputter may be omitted. When the userinterface 720 is not configured as the display of the touch screenmethod, data generated by driving of the group control executer 740 maybe displayed on the screen and the user command may be provided via thebutton inputter. The button inputter may include any one or more ofvarious buttons, such as a direction button and/or a number button.

The storage 730 stores a variety of information which is processed inthe user terminal 100. According to an exemplary embodiment, the storage730 may share information relating to the plurality of controlleddevices 130 by communicating with the control device 120, and may storethe shared information. For example, in response to the user groupingthe individual controlled devices 130_1 to 130_N of FIG. 1 via the userterminal 100, the user terminal 100 may store basic information, such asgroup information which is usable for collectively controlling theplurality of controlled devices 130 in a specific group.

The group control executer 740 may store an application for collectivelycontrolling the plurality of controlled devices via the control device120 of FIG. 1, and may execute the application stored under the controlof the controller 710 based on a user's request. In response to theapplication being executed, the user interface 720 may display the UIscreen on the screen as shown in views (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 5. TheUI will be explained in detail below. The group control executer 740 maygenerate an adjustment value in order to provide an adjustment value tobe collectively adjusted by the user to the control device 120, or maygenerate a ratio value in order to provide a ratio value for theadjustment value to the control device 120. The adjustment value orratio value generated in this way may be transmitted to thecommunication interface 700 under the control of the controller 710.

In addition, the user terminal 100 may include any one or more ofvarious function blocks. For example, when the user terminal 100controls the plurality of controlled devices 130 via voice recognitionand/or motion recognition, the user terminal 100 may include amicrophone and a camera, and may include an analysis module foranalyzing information acquired by the microphone and the camera. Variousmodifications can be made to the exemplary embodiment, provided that theplurality of controlled devices 130 can be grouped and the plurality ofcontrolled devices 130 in the group can be collectively controlled.Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-describedexemplary embodiments.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are block diagrams which illustrate a configuration ofthe control device of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 8A in conjunction with FIG. 1, the control device 120according to an exemplary embodiment is configured to interwork with theuser terminal 100 of FIG. 1, and includes a part or all of acommunication interface 800, a controller 810, a storage 820, and asetting value adjuster 830.

The term “including a part or all” herein may mean that some elements,such as the storage 820, may be omitted and/or that some elements, suchas the setting value adjuster 830, may be integrated into the controller810, as shown in FIG. 8B. For better understanding of exemplaryembodiments, the control device 120 includes all of the elements.

The communication interface 800 communicates with the user terminal 100and the plurality of controlled devices 130. The communication interface800 may receive an adjustment value which is adjustable by the user inorder to collectively control the plurality of controlled devices 130,and may also receive a variety of additional information correspondingto the adjustment value by communicating with the user terminal 100. Inaddition, the communication interface 800 may receive informationrelating to any one or more of various setting functions set by the useron the user terminal 100. In addition, the communication interface 800may receive a result of sensing performed by the sensor 130 a of FIG. 1via the plurality of controlled devices 130. In addition, thecommunication interface 800 may register the individual controlleddevices 130_1 to 130_N by using NFC. For example, the controller 810registers each of the individual controlled devices 130_1 to 130_N atthe storage 820 or the separate DB 120 a, and then, in response torespective signals being received from the individual controlled devices130_1 to 130_N, the controller 810 may determine that the individualcontrolled devices 130_1 to 130_N are installed. In this case, thecontroller 810 may use respective device IDs of the individualcontrolled devices 130_1 to 130_N.

The controller 810 may control an overall operation of the communicationinterface 800, the storage 820, and the setting value adjuster 830 ofthe control device 120. For example, in response to an adjustment valuebeing received from the user terminal 100 via the communicationinterface 800, the controller 810 may transmit the adjustment value tothe setting value adjuster 830. Of course, in response to the adjustmentvalue being provided in the form of a ratio value, the controller 810may transmit the adjustment value to the setting value adjuster 830. Inresponse to a request of the setting value adjuster 830, the controller810 may provide setting value information which relates to each of theindividual controlled devices 130_1 to 130_N of FIG. 1 belonging to thesame group, which is stored in the storage 820 or the separate DB 120 a.Thereafter, the controller 810 may store setting value information whichis adjusted by the setting value adjuster 830 in the storage 820 and/orin the DB 120 a.

In addition, the controller 810 controls the plurality of controlleddevices 130 based on the setting values adjusted by the setting valueadjuster 830. To achieve this, the controller 810 may generate controlsignals for controlling the plurality of controlled devices 130 and mayprovide the control signals to the plurality of controlled devices 130.For example, in response to a dimming value of a light of a specificindividual controlled device from among the plurality of controlleddevices 130_1˜130_N being adjusted to be decreased, the controller 810may generate a control signal for reducing a level of applied voltageand may provide the control signal. In particular, various levels ofvoltages may be applied to the individual controlled devices 130_1 to130_N. The controller 810 may provide a switching signal as the controlsignal in order to select a specific level of voltage.

The storage 820 may temporarily store the information which is processedin the control device 120. In practice, the control device 120 may storeinformation which is necessary for collectively controlling theplurality of controlled devices of FIG. 1 in the DB 120 a whichinterworks with the control device 120. However, the control device 120may store the information which needs to be temporarily stored for rapidinformation processing in the storage 820, and may use the informationafterward.

The setting value adjuster 830 adjusts (or calculates) the respectivesetting values of the individual controlled devices 130_1 to 130_N,which are pre-set by the user. In this process, in response to the userterminal 100 providing the adjustment value in the form of an absolutevalue, the setting value adjuster 830 may calculate a ratio value byusing the adjustment value. In this case, the setting value adjuster 830may use information which relates to an average of a specific group. Inparticular, when the adjustment value is a decreasing value, the settingvalue adjuster 830 may calculate a ratio of the adjustment value to theaverage, and, when the adjustment value is an increasing value, thesetting value adjuster 830 may calculate a ratio of the adjustment valueto a value which is obtainable by subtracting the average from themaximum adjustable value.

In response to the ratio value being calculated as described above, thesetting value adjuster 830 adjusts each of the respective setting valuesof the individual controlled devices 130_1 to 130_N according to thecalculated ratio. In response to the ratio value being directly receivedfrom the user terminal 100, the setting value adjuster 830 adjusts onlythe pre-set setting values of each of the individual controlled devices130_1 to 130_N. In this case, the setting value adjuster 830 may reflecta variety of setting information provided by the controller 810 inadjusting the setting values. For example, in response to a lock beingset, the setting value adjuster 810 may not adjust the setting value ofthe individual controlled device 130_1˜130_N for which the lock is set.The setting values adjusted by the setting value adjuster 830 may beprovided to the controller 810.

FIG. 9 is a view which illustrates a collective control process of alighting device, according to an exemplary embodiment, and FIGS. 10A and10B are diagrams which illustrate the collective control process of thelighting device of FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 9 in conjunction with FIG. 1, in operation S900, theuser terminal 100 according to an exemplary embodiment provides a groupdimming adjustment value, that is, an adjusted dimming value, to thecontrol device 120. The user terminal 100 may display a UI window on thescreen based on a user's request. The UI displays an individual controlobject 1110 and a group control object 1120, as shown in FIGS. 10A and10B. The individual control object 1110 indicates pre-set setting valuesof lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 of FIG. 9, and the groupcontrol object 1120 indicates an average of the pre-set setting values.Therefore, the adjusted dimming value is a value which is obtained byadjusting the average.

In operation S910, the control device 120 calculates individual dimmingadjustment values of each of the lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and130′-3 by using the received dimming adjustment value. Morespecifically, the control device 120 calculates a ratio which relates tothe received dimming adjustment value and adjusts each of the pre-setdimming values individually by reflecting the calculated ratio value.

In operation S920, the control device 120 provides the dimming valueswhich are adjusted according to the ratio to each of the lightingdevices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3. More specifically, the controldevice 120 may provide control signals indicating the adjusted dimmingvalues. However, when the lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3include their respective controllers, the control device 120 maytransmit information relating to the adjusted dimming values to each ofthe lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3, and each of thelighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 may adjust a respectivebrightness by using the information on the adjusted dimming values.

Thereafter, in operation S930, the lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and130′-3 may inform the control device 120 that the adjusted dimmingvalues are normally received.

Accordingly, the control device 1120 updates the DB 120 a interworkingtherewith with new information relating to the adjusted dimming valuesin operation S940, and may inform the user terminal 100 of the newinformation relating to the adjusted dimming values in operation S950.

In addition, in operation S960, the user terminal 100 may requestinformation which relates to attributes and statuses of the lightingdevices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 by communicating with the controldevice 120, and in operation S970, the control device 120 may providethe information in response to the request.

Hereinafter, a ratio control method according to an exemplary embodimentwill be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B. Theuser terminal 100 may display the UI window which includes theindividual control objects 1110 and the group control object 1120 on thescreen as shown in FIG. 10A. In response to the user adjusting the groupcontrol object 1120 to the maximum in FIG. 10A, the control device 120controls each of the lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 to havethe maximum dimming value, regardless of the ratio control. Accordingly,all of the individual control objects 1110 and the group control object1120 on the screen of the user terminal 100 indicate the maximum value.Thereafter, in response to a user request to continuously perform theratio control operation, the control device 120 returns to the previousstatus. To achieve this, the control device 120 may refer to theprevious setting value information stored in the DB 120 a.

Conversely, the user may increase the dimming value by 25 out of theadjustable remaining dimming value of 50 by adjusting the group controlobject 1120 as shown in FIG. 10B. This means that the dimming valueincreases by 50% of the value which is obtained by subtracting theaverage from the maximum value. Therefore, the control device 120controls each of the individual lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and130′-3 at the ratio of ½ and thus increases the pre-set dimming valuesby 50%. Accordingly, the individual control objects 1110 indicating thedimming values of 70, 50, and 30 on the UI of the user terminal 100 arechanged to indicate the dimming values of 85, 75, and 65.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart which illustrates a driving method of a controldevice, according to a first exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 11 in conjunction with FIG. 1, in operation S1100, thecontrol device 120 according to an exemplary embodiment receives anadjustment value for collectively controlling the plurality ofcontrolled devices 130 in the group from the user terminal 100. In thiscase, the adjustment value may be provided in the form of an absolutevalue or a ratio value. In addition, the control device 120 may receiveinformation relating to whether the adjustment value is an increasingvalue or decreasing value at the same time of receiving the adjustmentvalue.

In operation S1110, the control device 120 adjusts pre-set values of theplurality of controlled devices according to a ratio which relates tothe received adjustment value. This has been described above withreference to FIG. 10B and a redundant explanation is omitted.

Thereafter, in operation S1120, the control device 120 controls theplurality of controlled devices 130 based on the adjusted setting values(S1120). For example, the control device 120 may control each of theplurality of controlled devices 130 individually. The plurality ofcontrolled devices 130 may include any one or more of various devicessuch as sound devices, blind devices, etc. in addition to theabove-mentioned lighting devices.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart which illustrates a driving method of a controldevice according to a second exemplary embodiment, which includescontrolling a lighting device by using an absolute value.

Referring to FIG. 12 in conjunction with FIG. 9, in operation S1200, thecontrol device 120 according to an exemplary embodiment receives adimming value for collectively controlling the plurality of lightingdevices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 from the user terminal 100. In thiscase, the dimming value refers to an adjustment value for an averagevalue, and may be provided in the form of an absolute value or a ratiovalue.

In operation S1210, the control device 120 determines whether thedimming values which have been pre-set for each of the plurality oflighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 in the same group are thesame value or not. To achieve this, the control device 120 may retrievethe pre-set dimming values of the plurality of lighting devices 130′-1,130′-2, and 130′-3 belonging to the same group from the DB 120 a whichinterworks with the control device 120, and may compare the retrieveddimming values.

When the retrieved dimming values are not the same value, in operationS1220, the control device 120 adjusts the respective setting values ofthe plurality of lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 based on toa ratio which relates to the received dimming value. The adjustingherein may include calculating a ratio and determining an adjustmentrange according to the calculated ratio.

When the dimming values are the same value, in operation S1230, thecontrol device 120 adjusts the setting values of each of the pluralityof lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 by an absolute value ofthe adjusted dimming value. The adjusting herein may include calculatingthe absolute value. The adjusted setting values are collectivelytransmitted to the plurality of lighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and130′-3. Thereafter, in operation S1240, the control device 120 mayindividually or collectively control the plurality of lighting devices130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 according to the adjusted setting values,based on the ratio control or the absolute value control.

FIGS. 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are views which illustrate a driving screenof a light control implemented in the user terminal of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 in conjunction with FIG. 1,the user terminal 100 according to an exemplary embodiment displays alist of LEDs as shown in views (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 13. Thedisplayed list provides information relating to installed individualLEDs. It is possible to control the LEDs one by one by using the list.View (a) of FIG. 13 illustrates a quick view of the individual LEDs, andview (b) of FIG. 13 illustrates a detail view of the individual LEDs.View (c) of FIG. 13 illustrates a screen which is displayed in responseto LED 2 being selected in view (b) of FIG. 13. In addition, view (d) ofFIG. 13 shows a button to move to a setting page.

Detailed functions related to FIG. 13 may be summarized in Table 1 ofFIGS. 91A and 91B.

FIG. 14 is a view which illustrates a portrait view of the group list.The group list provides LED information relating to each group, and itis possible to control the lights on a group basis or an LED basis byusing the group list. View (a) of FIG. 14 illustrates a quick view ofthe groups of the LEDs, view (b) of FIG. 14 illustrates a detail view ofthe groups of the LEDs, and view (c) of FIG. 14 shows individual LEDsincluded in Group 1.

Detailed functions related to FIG. 14 are shown in Table 2 of FIGS. 92Aand 92B.

FIG. 15 is a view which illustrates a landscape view of the group list.The group list of FIG. 15 provides LED information of each group, and itis possible to control the lights on a group basis or an LED basis byusing the group list. However, the landscape view may be activated onlyin the group list.

Detailed functions related to FIG. 15 are explained in Table 3 of FIGS.93A and 93B.

FIG. 16 is a view which illustrates a detailed page view of the list.The detailed page of FIG. 16 provides detailed information relating toindividual or group LEDs, and the user may set respective setting valueson each piece of the detailed information. For example, the user may seta pattern for changing dimming of a light in a predetermined form withtime, and may set a light to inform of a phone call when a phone call isreceived from a specific person of a set phone number.

Detailed functions related to FIG. 16 are shown in Table 4 of FIGS. 94Aand 94B.

FIG. 17 is a view which illustrates a quick panel screen. The quickpanel screen displays lights which are added as favorites, for example,up to 4 lights, on a quick panel. In particular, in response to the userdragging down an upper area of the screen, the lights added as favoritesmay appear. View (b) of FIG. 17 shows a screen which displays the lightsadded as favorites in a landscape form.

Detailed functions related to FIG. 17 are shown in Table 5 of FIG. 95.

FIGS. 18 to 29L are diagrams which illustrate a driving screen of alight control. Referring to FIGS. 18 to 29L in conjunction with FIGS. 1and 9, the user terminal 100 according to an exemplary embodiment mayexecute an application for controlling lights and may display a loadingscreen as shown in FIG. 18. During the loading operation, the userterminal 100 may share information which relates to the plurality oflighting devices 130′-1, 130′-2, and 130′-3 with the control device 120.

Thereafter, the user terminal 100 displays a main screen, as shown inFIG. 19A, FIG. 19B, and FIG. 19C. Detailed descriptions regarding thishave been provided above with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14 and thus aredundant explanation is omitted.

FIGS. 20A and 20B are views which illustrate a guide pop-up screen. Theuser terminal 100 displays information relating to whether brightness isto be adjusted or a display mode is to be changed in the form of apop-up window, and enables the user to make a selection.

FIGS. 21A and 21B show a quick panel screen similar to that shown inFIG. 17. FIG. 21A shows a portrait view and FIG. 21B shows a landscapeview.

FIGS. 22A and 22B are views which illustrate a landscape view ofindividual lighting devices, and FIG. 23 illustrates a process ofadjusting an icon of LED 03. The screen of FIG. 22A shows informationindicating the current screen position on a lower portion.

FIGS. 24A and 24B are views which illustrate a detailed setting screensimilar to that shown in FIG. 16. Through the screen of FIGS. 24A and24B, the user may set a variety of information, such as a pattern of alight, a mode of a set pattern, and schedule. Of course, the user mayset a shape of a lampshade.

FIGS. 25A, 25B, 25C, 25D, 25E, 25F, 25G, 25H, 25I, 25J, 25K, and 25L areviews showing various kinds of lampshades. The user may select alampshade that the user prefers as a representative image of a light.

FIGS. 26A, 26B, and 26C are views which illustrate screens displayed inresponse to a specific item being selected in FIGS. 24A and 24B. In thiscase, the corresponding screens may be displayed in a pop-up form.

FIG. 26C shows a screen for searching for a phone number.

FIGS. 27A, 27B, and 27C show a screen for setting a group (FIG. 27A), ascreen for setting individual lights (FIG. 27B), and a screen for addinga light (FIG. 27C).

FIGS. 28A, 28B, and 28C show a screen for deleting individual LEDs (FIG.28A), a screen for changing a name (FIG. 28B), and a screen forinforming that there is no light to be deleted (FIG. 28C).

FIGS. 29A, 29B, 29C, 29D, 29E, 29F, 29G, 29H, 29I, 29J, 29K, and 29L areviews which show various types of pop-up windows.

FIG. 30 is a view which illustrates a UI configuration, according to anexemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 30, a UI according to an exemplary embodiment mayoperate in two depths. In FIG. 30, item 1 indicates a parallelconfiguration like a tab configuration and indicates toggling as an[individual-group toggle button], and item 2 indicates changing to alandscape view in response to a group list being changed to a landscapeview. In this case, the individual LED list is not changed to thelandscape view. In addition, item 3 indicates that each list can providetwo types of views, such as a quick view and a detail view.

FIGS. 31 to 41 are views which illustrate regulations of a UI briefly,according to an exemplary embodiment.

Prior to the description of the regulations of the UI, notationregulations are summarized as shown in Tables 6, 7, and 8 of FIGS. 96 to98. Table 6 of FIG. 96 shows touch gestures, Table 7 of FIG. 97 showstouch feedback statuses, and Table 8 of FIG. 98 shows screen definitionand operation flow.

Views (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 31 schematize FIG. 30. An individual LEDlist screen is displayed as shown in view (a) of FIG. 31, and then ischanged to a group list screen by selecting a toggle button, as shown inview (b) of FIG. 31. In addition, by performing a horizontal flickingoperation while a quick view/detail view screen is displayed as shown inview (b) of FIG. 31, a group peeping screen may be displayed. Inaddition, in response to the quick view/detail view screen being changedto a landscape view as shown in view (b), a screen shown in view (c) ofFIG. 31 may be displayed. In this case, neighboring groups may beidentified by performing the horizontal flicking operation.

Views (a) and (b) of FIG. 32 illustrate an operation of changing to aprevious screen. In particular, in response to the user tapping a list01 item on the screen shown in view (a) of FIG. 32, a screen shown inview (b) of FIG. 32 is displayed. In response to the user tapping thescreen shown in view (b) of FIG. 32 again, the screen shown in view (a)of FIG. 32 is restored.

FIGS. 33, 34, 35, and 36 illustrate various screens related to a pop-upwindow.

The pop-up window includes basic text information and a title area, aselectable GUI button, and an icon for distinguishing a situation may beadded to the pop-up window according to a shape of the pop-up window.Generally, the pop-up window may use a pop-up window provided by thesystem, and a separate pop-up window may be added when there is nopop-up window, depending on a platform. In response to the pop-up windowbeing created, a background area except for the pop-up window isinactivated. The pop-up window may be divided into a basic dialog pop-upwindow, an alert pop-up window, a list pop-up window, and a toast pop-upwindow.

Views (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) of FIG. 33 illustrate thebasic dialog pop-up window. The basic dialog pop-up window is a pop-upwindow for performing functions and includes a plurality of functionlists, a selectable GUI button such as ‘Yes/No’, ‘OK’, etc., and anelement having an interaction such as a text input area. In view (a) ofFIG. 33, item 1 provides a title of a corresponding pop-up window, item2 indicates an area for showing contents of the corresponding pop-upwindow and provides a message, a list, a text box, a seek bar, aspinner, etc. according to a kind of the pop-up window, and item 3provides OK and Cancel. Depending on times, only OK may be provided.

Views (a) and (b) of FIG. 34 show an alert pop-up window. The alertpop-up window may be divided into two types based on a seriousness of amessage. Most messages do not require a title, but a high danger work ora work including a potential data loss may use a dialog having a title.In views (a) and (b) of FIG. 34, item 1 indicates an area for showingcontents of a corresponding pop-up window and provides a message, alist, a text box, a seek bar, a spinner, and any other suitable type offield, according to a kind of the pop-up window, and item 3 provides OKand Cancel. Depending on times, only OK may be provided. Item 3indicates that a highly important pop-up window which should be notifiedto the user may use an icon.

Views (a) and (b) of FIG. 35 show a list pop-up window. The list pop-upwindow is used when the user is allowed to select only one. Accordingly,a button is not provided. In response to an area other than the pop-upwindow being selected, the pop-up window is terminated. In views (a) and(b) of FIG. 35, item 1 provides a title of a corresponding pop-upwindow, and item 2 is an area for showing contents of the correspondingpop-up window.

Views (a), (b), (c), and (d) of FIG. 36 show a toast pop-up window. Thetoast pop-up window is used when simple feedback is provided in the formof a small toast pop-up window. A toast notice is a message which isprovided in the form of a pop-up window on a surface of a window. Thetoast fills a space required by a message, and a user's current actionis interactive and is provided as if it can be seen. The notice mayautomatically appear and disappear and an interaction in the pop-upwindow is not allowed.

FIG. 37 illustrates a screen which shows a menu button as a UI element.As shown in views (a) and (b) of FIG. 37, a function which can beperformed in a corresponding page may be provided as a menu button.

FIG. 38 illustrates a screen showing a scroll as a UI element. Thescroll indicates the whole width and height lengths of a correspondingpage, and may serve as an indicator.

FIGS. 39 and 40 illustrate screens which show a text input as a UIelement. An on-screen keyboard provided by the system is used, anddifferent types of on screen keyboards may be provided according to aninput type of a text, as shown in views (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 39.Views (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of FIG. 40 illustrate a process whichis commonly applied in response to a text being input. View (a) of FIG.40 shows that there is no keypad at the time of entering, view (b) ofFIG. 40 shows that a keypad appears in response to a text box beingtapped, and view (c) of FIG. 40 shows that a text field is displayed inresponse to [Text] being input. As shown in view (d) of FIG. 40, [Text]is changed to [Done] in a last text field of a page. In FIGS. 39 and 40,reference numerals 3900A, 3900B, and 3900C and reference numerals 4000B,4000C, and 4000D indicate cursors. The locations of these cursors may beset as a respective default.

FIG. 41 illustrates a screen which shows a task completion as a UIelement, and shows a process which is applied when a task such asaddition, deletion, and setting change is completed.

FIGS. 42 to 90 are views illustrating a UI driving screen, according toan exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 42 shows a screen which is displayed when loading is performed, andFIG. 43 shows a screen which is displayed when loading fails. In view(b) of FIG. 42, a light of a lamp becomes brighter as a loading numberincreases from 0 to 100%. In addition, a detail view may be fixed asshown in view (e) of FIG. 42. Thereafter, the view method may succeed aview status when a previous application was closed. An LED view may beprovided to the user who has terminated an application in the LED viewstatus, and a group view may be provided to the user who has terminatedan application in the group view status.

FIGS. 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49 illustrate LED list-related screens.FIG. 44 illustrates an LED list screen and shows a list unfolding screenand a list folding screen. FIG. 45 illustrates an LED list screen forcontrolling collectively turned on/off buttons and individually turnedon/off buttons. In response to the user tapping “All Light” in view (a)of FIG. 45, all lights are turned on, and thus an “All Light” subtitlearea is changed to “5 Lights On” as shown in view (b) of FIG. 45. Inresponse to the user tapping LED 1 in view (b) of FIG. 45, only the LED1 is turned off and the “All Light” subtitle area is changed to “4Lights On.” Furthermore, FIG. 46 shows adjusting dimming on the LED listscreen. In view (c) of FIG. 46, a location of a graphic light moves downand a real light brightness becomes lower. In this case, brightness ofan icon may be changed based on the light brightness. Conversely, asshown in view (d) of FIG. 46, in response to a location of a graphiclight moving up, the real light brightness becomes greater. FIG. 47illustrates adding and/or deleting favorites on the LED list screen.View (e) of FIG. 47 shows that a pop-up window registered as favoritesappears in the quick panel, and view (f) of FIG. 47 shows that a lightdeleted from favorites is removed from the quick panel. FIG. 48 shows afavorites list excess notice on the LED list screen. The notice may bedisplayed in a pop-up window form, as shown in view (b) of FIG. 48. FIG.49 shows changing a light icon on the LED list screen. The icon imagemay be changed as shown in view (b) of FIG. 49 and view (c) of FIG. 49.The icon mage is finally changed by selecting OK in view (c) of FIG. 49.

FIGS. 50, 51, 52, and 53 illustrate an individual light peeping screen.In response to a Group 1 item being tapped in view (a) of FIG. 50, ascreen shown in view (b) of FIG. 50 is displayed. In response to a Group2 item being tapped in view (b) of FIG. 50, a screen shown in view (c)of FIG. 50 is displayed. In this case, in response to the Group 2 itembeing tapped in view (b) of FIG. 50, a newly flicked list is opened, anda previously flicked list returns to its original status.

FIG. 51 illustrates light management. In response to a light additionitem being tapped in view (b) of FIG. 51, LEDs are displayed in additionto the already registered LEDs, as shown in view (c) of FIG. 51. FIG. 52illustrates dimming setting, and FIG. 53 illustrates a screen displayedwhen tapping is performed for a long time. For example, in response toan LED 1 being tapped for a long time in FIG. 53, the LED 1 is in amovable status. Accordingly, the LED 1 may be moved or deleted.

FIGS. 54 to 76 illustrate screens related to details setting. FIG. 54 isa view which illustrates an entry into a details setting screen. Inresponse to the LED 1 being tapped in view (a) of FIG. 54, the screenmay be changed to a details setting screen of the LED 1. Details settingscreens of an individual LED and a group LED of view (c) of FIG. 54 andview (g) of FIG. 54 are different from each other in thepresence/absence of an upper end title menu button (a dashed lineportion). FIG. 55 illustrates a screen for adding a light in a group. Inresponse to a light addition item being tapped in view (b) of FIG. 55, ascreen shown in view (c) of FIG. 55 is displayed. In this case, a lightwhich has been already included in the group is not displayed in thelist. FIG. 56 illustrates a screen for deleting a light from a group. Inresponse to a light deletion item being tapped in view (b) of FIG. 56, alist of lights in the group is provided, as shown in view (c) of FIG.56. FIG. 57 illustrates a screen for deleting all lights from a group.FIG. 58 illustrates a screen for changing a light/group name. Inresponse to an overlapping group name being input or in response to agroup name not being input, pop-up windows shown in views (f) and (g) ofFIG. 58 may be provided. FIG. 59 illustrates a screen for selecting apattern. The pattern is always selected and is always in a turn-onstatus, even in an extension view indicator area, as shown in view (c)of FIG. 59. A set light value is reflected in the real light control.FIGS. 60 and 61 illustrate screens for adding and deleting a pattern,and a guide may be provided by using an automatic drawing animation asshown in views (b) and (c) of FIG. 60. FIG. 62 illustrates a screen fordeleting a set pattern when an event is notified. For example, inresponse to a phone call being received from a specific person, apattern set for a light may be deleted.

FIG. 63 is a view which illustrates selecting and/or releasing a mode.The mode may be a sleep mode, etc., as shown above in Table 4 of FIGS.94A and 94B. FIG. 64 illustrates selecting and/or releasing a schedule,and FIG. 65 illustrates a schedule addition screen. As shown in view (a)of FIG. 65, when there is no schedule, a schedule title area does nothave folding/unfolding functions. Conversely, as shown in view (h) ofFIG. 65, in response to a new schedule being added, the title areagenerates the folding/unfolding functions. FIG. 66 is a screenillustrating a schedule editing process, and FIG. 67 illustrates aschedule deleting process. FIG. 68 is a screen illustrating selectingand/or releasing an event notice, and, in response to an event noticebeing set, an event setting icon is generated in an extension viewindicator area as shown in view (d) of FIG. 68. In this case, an eventnotice may be added by using a list of phone numbers as shown in FIG.69. In addition, an event notice may be added by directly inputting aphone number as shown in FIG. 70. FIG. 71 illustrates a process forcorrecting the event notice. FIG. 72 illustrates deleting an eventnotice.

FIG. 73 illustrates a process for selecting an LED image, and FIG. 74illustrates a process for selecting a BG image. FIG. 75 illustratesselecting and/or releasing a baby/night care. The baby care refers tosetting a light to be automatically turned on with low brightness inresponse to a baby's cry being heard. The night care refers to afunction of automatically turning on a light with set brightness inresponse to the user raising a user's smartphone. In response to detailssetting being stored as shown in FIG. 76, a previous screen is restored,as shown in view (b) of FIG. 76.

FIGS. 77 to 85 illustrate screens related to a landscape view.

FIG. 77 shows an entry into a landscape view. In response to the screenbeing rotated in a portrait view shown in views (a) and (b) of FIG. 77,the screen enters the landscape view. In response to the screen beingrotated again, the screen returns to its original status. FIG. 78 is ascreen which illustrates moving to another room. In views (a) and (c) ofFIG. 78, a cue informing that there are different rooms on the left andright is shown. FIG. 79 is a screen which illustrates moving to anotherroom. In the case of a group which has more than the maximum number ofLEDs in one page, a cue informing that there is still another room onthe left is displayed on a lower end as shown in view (a) of FIG. 79.FIG. 80 illustrates a process for setting dimming in a landscape view.As shown in view (a) of FIG. 80, dimming may be reduced by adjustingLED 1. FIG. 81 is a screen which illustrates adding and/or deletingfavorites. When four favorites have been already registered, a pop-upwindow may be displayed as shown in view (b) of FIG. 81. FIGS. 82 and 83illustrate a light management screen and adding and/or deleting a light.As shown in view (e) of FIG. 82, in response to a light being added, agroup may be set to have an average dimming value and may be added. FIG.84 illustrates a location movement of an LED in response to a longtapping operation. In view (a) of FIG. 84, in response to the LED 1being tapped for a relatively long time, the LED 1 is in a movablestatus. Accordingly, the LED 1 moves to a location desired by the user,and other LEDs are pushed and moved as shown in view (c) of FIG. 84.FIG. 85 is a screen for deleting an LED in response to a long tappingoperation. When the LED 1 is in the movable status as shown in view (b)of FIG. 85, the LED 1 may be deleted by being dragged to a deletionbutton. In this case, the deletion button may be visually different, ora color and/or a size may be changed, as shown in view (c) of FIG. 85.In this case, other LEDs are pushed and moved as shown in view (d) ofFIG. 85.

FIGS. 86, 87A, and 87B are setting screens and illustrate deleting andediting an LED.

The deleting process is performed by selecting a deletion item in view(b) of FIG. 86, and pop-up windows related to the LED deletion may bedisplayed during this process. In response to a place being input asshown in view (e) of FIG. 87A while the LED is edited as shown in FIG.87B, an already-registered place may be provided in a pop-up windowform. In view (f) of FIG. 87A, [+Add New Location] is displayed on alowermost end.

FIGS. 88, 89, and 90 illustrate screens related to group registrationand management. The light may be added and/or deleted by the processshown in FIGS. 88 and 89, and the group icon may be changed as shown inFIG. 90.

Although it is described above that all elements of the exemplaryembodiments are combined into a single element or operate in combinationwith one another, the present disclosure is not limited to thoseexemplary embodiments. In particular, one or more elements may beselectively combined and operate provided that the one or more elementsare within the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, althougheach of the elements may be implemented as a single independent hardwarecomponent, some or all of the elements may be selectively combined andmay be implemented as a computer program having a program module forperforming some or all of functions combined in one or a plurality ofhardware components. Codes and code segments constituting the computerprogram can be easily inferred by an ordinary skilled person in the art.Such a computer program may be stored in a non-transitory computerreadable medium, and may be read and executed by a computer, so that theexemplary embodiments can be implemented.

The non-transitory computer readable medium refers to a medium thatstores data semi-permanently rather than storing data for a very shorttime, such as a register, a cache, and a memory, and is readable by anapparatus. Specifically, the above-described programs may be stored in anon-transitory computer readable medium, such as, for example, any oneor more of a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a harddisk, a Blu-ray disk, a universal serial bus (USB), a memory card, and aread only memory (ROM), and may be provided.

The foregoing exemplary embodiments and advantages are merely exemplaryand are not to be construed as limiting the present inventive concept.The exemplary embodiments can be readily applied with respect to othertypes of apparatuses. In addition, the description of the exemplaryembodiments is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scopeof the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations willbe apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A user terminal comprising: a communicationinterface configured to communicate with each of a plurality ofcontrolled devices which are operated based on respective individuallyset setting values; a user interface configured to receive an adjustmentvalue for controlling the plurality of controlled devices; and acontroller configured to adjust each of the setting values based on aratio which relates to the received adjustment value, and to control theplurality of controlled devices based on the adjusted setting values,wherein the controller is further configured to change the ratio basedon a result of sensing a respective environmental quality of each of thecontrolled devices, so that different ratios are used to adjust each ofthe setting values.
 2. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is further configured to calculate an average value based onthe setting values, to calculate at least one from among a ratio of thereceived adjustment value to the calculated average value and a ratio ofthe received adjustment value to a value which is obtainable bysubtracting the calculated average value from a maximum setting value,and to individually adjust each of the setting values based on thecalculated at least one ratio.
 3. The user terminal of claim 2, whereinthe user interface is further configured to display a user interface(UI) window which displays the plurality of controlled devices as agroup and displays a collective control object which is usable forcollectively controlling operations of the controlled devices, andwherein, when the displayed collective control object is adjusted by auser manipulation, the controller is further configured to determine theadjustment value based on an adjustment status of the collective controlobject.
 4. The user terminal of claim 3, wherein the UI windowadditionally displays an individual control object which is usable forindividually controlling one device from among the plurality ofcontrolled devices, and wherein, when a lock is set for the displayedindividual control object, the controller is further configured to notadjust the setting value of the one device which corresponds to theindividual control object for which the lock is set.
 5. The userterminal of claim 4, wherein, when the collective control object isadjusted to a minimum, the controller is further configured to adjusteach of the setting values to a respective minimum, and when thecollective control object is adjusted to a maximum, the controller isfurther configured to adjust each of the setting values to a respectivemaximum, and wherein, when a user reset request is received, thecontroller is further configured to reset each of the setting valueswhich have been adjusted to at least one from among the respectiveminimum and the respective maximum to the corresponding setting valueswhich had been set prior to being adjusted.
 6. The user terminal ofclaim 1, wherein when each of the setting values has a same value, thecontroller is further configured to adjust each of the setting valuesbased on an absolute value of the adjustment value.
 7. The user terminalof claim 1, wherein each one of the plurality of controlled devicescomprises at least one from among a lighting device, a sound device, ablind device, and a temperature control device, and wherein each of thesetting values comprises at least one from among a target dimming value,a target volume, a blind adjustment status, and a target temperature. 8.A control device comprising: a communication interface configured tocommunicate with each of a plurality of controlled devices which areoperated based on respective individually set setting values, and with auser terminal; and a controller configured to, when an adjustment valuefor controlling the plurality of controlled devices is received from theuser terminal, adjust each of the setting values based on a ratio whichrelates to the received adjustment value, and to control the pluralityof controlled devices based on the adjusted setting values, wherein thecontroller is further configured to change the ratio based on a resultof sensing a respective environmental quality of each of the controlleddevices, so that different ratios are used to adjust each of the settingvalues.
 9. The control device of claim 8, wherein the controller isfurther configured to calculate an average value based on the settingvalues, to calculate at least one from among a ratio of the receivedadjustment value to the calculated average value and a ratio of thereceived adjustment value to a value which is obtainable by subtractingthe calculated average value from a maximum setting value, and toindividually adjust each of the setting values based on the calculatedat least one ratio.
 10. The control device of claim 9, wherein the userterminal is configured to display a user interface (UI) window whichdisplays the plurality of controlled devices as a group and displays acollective control object which is usable for collectively controllingoperations of the controlled devices, and wherein, in response to thedisplayed collective control object being adjusted by a usermanipulation, the controller is further configured to determine theadjustment value based on an adjustment status of the collective controlobject.
 11. The control device of claim 10, wherein the UI windowadditionally displays an individual control object which is usable forindividually controlling one device from among the plurality ofcontrolled devices, and wherein, in response to a lock being set for thedisplayed individual control object, the controller is furtherconfigured to not adjust the setting value of the one device whichcorresponds to the individual control object for which the lock is set.12. The control device of claim 11, wherein, in response to thecollective control object being adjusted to a minimum by the usermanipulation, the controller is further configured to adjust each of thesetting values to a respective minimum, and in response to thecollective control object being adjusted to a maximum by the usermanipulation, the controller is further configured to adjust each of thesetting values to a respective maximum, and wherein, in response to auser reset request, the controller is further configured to reset eachof the setting values which have been adjusted to at least one fromamong the respective minimum and the respective maximum to thecorresponding setting values which had been set prior to being adjusted.13. The control device of claim 8, wherein, in response to each of thesetting values having a same value, the controller is further configuredto adjust each of the setting values based on an absolute value of theadjustment value.
 14. The control device of claim 8, wherein each one ofthe plurality of controlled devices comprises at least one from among alighting device, a sound device, a blind device, and a temperaturecontrol device, and wherein each of the setting values comprises atleast one from among a target dimming value, a target volume, a blindadjustment status, and a target temperature.
 15. A driving method whichis executable by a user terminal for controlling a plurality ofcontrolled devices which are set, the method comprising: displaying anindividual control object via which respective setting values for eachof the plurality of controlled devices are individually set; displayinga collective control object which indicates an average value of therespective setting values of the plurality of controlled devices; andwhen the displayed collective control object is adjusted based on anadjustment value which is received by the user terminal, adjusting thedisplayed individual control object based on an adjustment ratio whichrelates to the collective control object, wherein the adjusting thedisplayed individual control object further comprises changing theadjustment ratio based on a result of sensing a respective environmentalquality of each of the controlled devices, so that different adjustmentratios are used to adjust each of the setting values.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the adjustment ratio includes at least one from amonga ratio of the adjustment value to an average value which is calculatedbased on the respective setting values and a ratio of the adjustmentvalue to a value which is obtainable by subtracting the calculatedaverage value from a maximum setting value.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein the adjusting the individual control object comprises, inresponse to each of the respective setting values of the plurality ofcontrolled devices having a same value, adjusting the individual controlobject based on an absolute value of the adjustment value.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising setting a lock for the individualcontrol object, and wherein the adjusting the individual control objectcomprises refraining from adjusting the individual control object forwhich the lock is set.
 19. A driving method which is executable by acontrol device for controlling a plurality of controlled devices, themethod comprising: receiving, from a user terminal, an adjustment valuefor controlling the plurality of controlled devices; adjusting each of aplurality of setting values which are individually set for a respectiveone of the plurality of controlled devices based on a ratio whichrelates to the received adjustment value; and controlling the pluralityof controlled devices based on the adjusted setting values, wherein theadjusting comprises changing the ratio based on a result of sensing arespective environmental quality of each of the controlled devices, sothat different ratios are used to adjust each of the setting values. 20.The method of claim 19, wherein the adjusting comprises calculating anaverage value based on the plurality of setting values, calculating atleast one from among a ratio of the received adjustment value to thecalculated average value and a ratio of the received adjustment value toa value which is obtainable by subtracting the calculated average valuefrom a maximum setting value, and individually adjusting each of theplurality of setting values based on the calculated at least one ratio.21. The method of claim 19, further comprising, in response to theadjustment value being received from the user terminal, determiningwhether each of the plurality of setting values has a same value,wherein the controlling the plurality of controlled devices comprises,in response to a determination that each of the plurality of settingvalues has a same value, adjusting each of the plurality of settingvalues based on an absolute value of the received adjustment value. 22.A control system of a first controlled device, comprising: a pluralityof controlled devices configured to operate based on individually setsetting values; and a controller configured to, when an adjustment valuefor controlling the plurality of collected devices is received from auser terminal, adjust each of the setting values based on a ratio whichrelates to the received adjustment value, and to control the pluralityof controlled devices based on the adjusted setting values, wherein thecontroller is further configured to change the ratio based on a resultof sensing a respective environmental quality of each of the controlleddevices, so that different ratios are used to adjust each of the settingvalues.